Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/80908
As Commander of the Wiscon- sin Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Jenniffer Price has over 330 hours of training in the investigations of crimes against children. Cobalt blue eye shadow can't soften the piercing gaze of Jenniffer Price. The commander of the Wisconsin Department of Justice's Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force is in her Madison office reflecting on the rough- ly seven years she's spent in this role. With handcuffs strapped to her hip, she thinks back to the cases she's been tasked with investigating. Sure, they affect her, but nothing hit home like the first time she worked on a case where the victims were the same age as her own daughter. It was 2006 and Price was charged with investigating a case of a man who would ul- timately be charged with possessing child pornography, as well as producing it. Even as a trained forensic interviewer with spe- cialized expertise questioning children, Price couldn't help but be affected as she sat down with the young victims. "To do the interview with those children …and hear them retell the victimization," she pauses, shaking her head. "The drive home that night was the longest ride." It's no secret that the Internet has created a dangerously convenient breeding ground for crimes against children. The dangers which Price and others address are diverse. Online, offenses range from cyber bully- ing and harassment, to child pornography and sexually explicit chatting and photo exchanges. Then, there are predators who take an online meeting a step further. Take the case of a Madison teenager who had simply been playing the online sensation World of Warcraft. In a twisted extension of his online gaming, a man showed up at the teen's home. Turned away by the teen's mother, the man pulled a gun and was later arrested. He was found armed with weapons, handcuffs and other items. His car trunk was lined with plas- tic—seemingly ready for an abduction. When cases like this become breaking news, there's a threshold of public distaste for viewers. Sure, we want justice, but we don't want to believe the gruesome details can happen close to home. We don't want to believe that it could be our kid. And yet, while we can shut off the televi- minefield, traversed every day by a select group of law enforcement specialists. is a nuanced 60 BRAVA Magazine September 2012 sion and resume our daily activities, inves- tigators like Price are on the move. Hunt- ing down cyber criminals